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Appreciate Your Ace

When I
was younger, Labor Day weekend signaled the end of summer and maybe even worse
it meant we were all going back to school. Needless to say that
particular weekend was not my favorite. It’s funny how things can change
over time. Labor Day weekend is now one of my favorites. Every year
I have it marked down on my calendar. Why? You may ask. College
Football? Sure I like college football (check out our college preview on
BSoT’s website) but the main reason is fantasy football. On the Sunday
before Labor Day my friends all get together and conduct our sacred fantasy
football draft.

My
buddies and I are all members of the Golden Pony Fantasy Football Experience.
A fourteen team, fifteen person, point per perception, dynasty league. Well
semi-dynasty league. As you get older it becomes harder and harder to
hang out with your friends as much as you used to. Our draft is the event
where we all get together. Every year I look forward to seeing all the
boys. When the huge white board that we use as our draft board is out and
the magnets are laid out on table, it’s time to rock n roll. Draft night
was filled with laughs, boos, smack talk and brews. The mai tais were
also flowing.Another thing that always
happens at the draft is the chaotic trade talk. These guys are always
wheeling and dealing. And this draft was one for the ages.There’s nothing like a bunch of knuckleheads
pretending to be professional general managers trying to get a deal done.
If you close your eyes and listen it sounds like the most dysfunctional Wall
Street trading floor ever. I can honestly say that there is nothing like
it. This year after the draft was completed, all the guys went to watch an impromptu 1 on 1 basketball game for $20. More on that another time. But I will say that it was hilarious. Not the game but the commentary. As you can tell, it was an incredible night. This year we took our
talents to Ying Dynasty, a local Chinese food restaurant. The Dynasty let us
use their upstairs private area to kick off the 2018 fantasy football season.
So you could say we added some solid Chinese food to the list of awesome things
that were present on draft night. I don’t know why I just jumped into
detail about the draft…I’m excited what else can I say?

If you
play fantasy football, take a second to thank your commissioner for all that
they do. These fantastic men and women do their best to make sure the
league is fun, competitive and fair. Some even put together phenomenal
binders with everything you need on draft night. They set the tone of
your league. If the commish is cool the league is cool. If
your commissioner is annoying, your league will be annoying.
Commissioners are routinely being criticized and apparently there is an
unwritten rule that you must always hate on the commish. Commissioners
are organizers, facilitators, mediators, treasurers, and just all around
amazing people. That is just my unbiased, not influenced by life at all,
off the top of my head opinion.

Commissioners
are awesome and should be appreciated. You know who else should be
appreciated? Chris Sale, ace pitcher of the Boston Red Sox pitching staff.
That’s who. Having an ace is so important to the success of a big league
club. Just like the commissioner of your fantasy league, an ace pitcher
sets the tone of the rotation. Sale is having himself an incredible 2018
campaign. His recent trips to the disabled list are probably the only
things standing in his way to winning this year’s American League’s Cy Young
Award. Chris Sale will be a major reason why the Red Sox either win or
lose.

Chris Sale is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
Every time he takes the mound, you expect him to completely shut down the other
team’s lineup. He’s tall, he’s lanky, and he’s a lefty, all
characteristics that opposing batters dislike greatly. His stuff is
electric, incredibly hard to hit. All of his pitches are pretty...pretty,
pretty nasty. Sale has a funky delivery that will screw with the hitter
in the batter’s box. If Chris Sale isn’t Randy Johnson for Halloween,
he’s not doing Halloween correctly. Sale could be the most dominating
starting pitcher that the Red Sox have had since Pedro Martinez. Cutting
up jerseys and cutting up batters are two things Chris Sale is extremely good
at. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, look up Sale’s jersey story from
his days in Chicago. Sale is a weapon, and when he’s healthy and pitching
well, he does it better than almost everyone in the league.

His injury has been an issue for the Sox. Some say
they are just resting him, others believe there is a real problem with his
shoulder. If they are resting him so he can pitch better this post season
I’m on board. Sale didn’t rise to the occasion last October. I hope
this year is different and if some extra rest can make that happen, perfect.
If Sale’s shoulder is really injured and he can’t get it healthy, then the Sox
has a massive problem on their hands. Boston’s offense is great, best in
the league, but their bullpen may be the worst out of the contenders. The
Red Sox chances depend greatly on their starters. This rotation has the
power to swing the team in either direction.

Obviously this has been a terrific season for the Boston
Red Sox. They have the most wins in the MLB and still have a commanding
lead in the division. Recently they have hit a little bit of turbulence.Whenever a team hits a rough patch and they
lose a bunch of games in a short period, their deficiencies become a lot more
glaring. Their starting pitchers all performed badly against the Rays and
that lead to three loses in a row. Having an ace like Sale is so
important when a team facing a losing streak. A pitcher like Sale can put
an end to a bad streak with one dominant outing. In 2007, it felt like
whenever the Red Sox needed it, Josh Beckett was there to get the team back on
track. In between the two most recent DL stints, Sale pitched a gem.
He only threw five innings but he gave up just one hit and struck out twelve
Orioles. No matter how bad your team is scuffling, if you have a pitcher
that can completely control a game like that you have the capability to swing
momentum in your favor.

Chris Sale has a real chance to become this season’s Cy
Young winner. For the few who do not know what that is, it is an award
given to the best pitcher in the league. If he can come back from his
injury relatively soon and continue throwing the ball like he was before the
injury, Sale can be this year’s best. As it stands now, Chris Sale leads
the league in three major categories. He has the lowest ERA, WHIP, and
opposing player’s batting average. Before he landed on the disabled list,
Sales last ten starts were simply magnificent. In ten starts, he only
gave up five runs. FIVE! That is a run every other game, teams just
didn’t have a chance against him. In that same ten game span he struck
out over 100 batters. One zero nine to be exact. According to Elias
Sports Chris Sale was the only pitcher to have a ten start stretch that dominant.
For the record, if holding him out will help his chances at performing
better in the playoffs, I’m all for it. Going for a World Series
Championship is more important. And to be honest...the Sox have already
set themselves up pretty nicely heading down the home stretch. They don’t
have to use Sale more than they have to. This year has been so magical
for the Red Sox maybe Sale can come back at the end of the season, win the CY
Young, then win the World Series. Man, wouldn’t that be nice.

Since the Sox brass traded for Chris Sale he has been as
good as advertised. He is leading this pitching staff and dominating all
along the way. Personally, I can’t wait for the next Sale Day. I
miss watching a pitcher strike out double digit batters every time he toes the
rubber. Health permitting, I think this is the year you see Chris Sale
dominate in the playoffs as well. Sale is flat out good at pitching and I
am extremely happy he is on the Red Sox. If you don’t know, now you
know…make sure to appreciate the skinny lefty, CHRIS SALE.

Oh and I wasn’t joking, appreciate your fantasy
commissioner. Give her or him a nice big hug and tell them how much they
mean to you. Maybe even buy them a beer…or three. I don’t know,
just an idea…

Follow me on Twitter @Matty_wests1de

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